Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) resigned from Congress on Tuesday ahead of a planned House Ethics Committee sanctions hearing.
The Florida Democrat was facing the threat of expulsion from the House over allegations she stole $5 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and funneled a portion of it to her campaign account.
The House Ethics Committee found Cherfilus-McCormick guilty of wrongdoing on 25 out of 27 ethics violations over financial misconduct last month, and was set to hold a sanctions hearing against her on Tuesday afternoon. Cherfilus-McCormick announced her resignation shortly before 2 p.m., when the ethics committee was set to meet.
“This was not a fair process,” Cherfilus-McCormick said in a statement. “The Ethics Committee refused my new attorney’s reasonable request for time to prepare my defense. By going forward with this process while a criminal indictment is pending, the Committee prevented me from defending myself. I will not stand by and pretend that this has been anything other than a witch hunt.”
She continued, “I simply cannot stand by and allow my due process rights to be trampled on, and my good name to be tarnished. Rather than play these political games, I choose to step away so that I can devote my time to fighting for my neighbors in Florida’s 20th district. I hereby resign from the 119th Congress, effective immediately.”
Cherfilus-McCormick warned against “precedent” the House was setting and not to “punish people before due process is complete.”
The Florida Democrat is the third member of Congress to resign this month, following the departures of former Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and Tony Gonzales (R-TX).
WHO IS SHEILA CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, THE CONGRESSWOMAN CHARGED WITH STEALING FEMA FUNDS?
Cherfilus-McCormick had previously refused to resign from her House seat over the allegations and denounced the “lumping” together of the allegations of financial misconduct she faces with the allegations faced by Swalwell and Gonzales as “inaccurate and irresponsible.”
This is a breaking story and will be updated.